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EDITORIAL: Automatic voting registration won't fix state's problems

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
07/09/2018 07:31:57 AM EDT

As lawmakers weigh passing an automatic voting registration bill, they'd be wise to digest the recent ruling by the state's highest court, which upheld Massachusetts' law that requires citizens to join the voting rolls at least 20 days before election day.

The Supreme Judicial Court found that the 1993 statute does not violate the state constitution, as the plaintiffs in this case -- the ACLU of Massachusetts, Chelsea Collaborative and MassVOTE -- contend. The suit stems from efforts by these groups to allow voters to circumvent that law to vote in the 2016 state and presidential elections.

We've pointed out that passing an automatic voting signup law won't solve the commonwealth's scandalous lack of voter participation. It will just increase that sorry statistic by adding voters who apparently couldn't be bothered to register previously. Had they cared, they could have easily done so in person or online via the Secretary of State's web site.

That's essentially the same reasoning the justices employed. To paraphrase, the SJC's opinion stated that anyone who took the time to inquire about the state's voting regulations would have known about that 20-day rule.

Because personal responsibility no longer seems to be in vogue, some believe we need laws that place the responsibility for citizenship squarely on the state.

While the justices did note that lawmakers could revisit this issue and revise that 20-day period, at least for now, that's not the prevailing judicial opinion.

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Grand bargain no bargain for some

That grand-bargain legislation, which Gov. Charlie Baker signed recently, contained two major worker-friendly advancements, raising the minimum wage to $15 over five years, and generous paid-leave benefits.

However, the flip side of that coin can be seen in the recent confidence gauge of Massachusetts employers, which dropped five points in the Associated Industries of Massachusetts June index.

Obviously, the family and medical-leave requirement, in combination with raising the minimum wage, substantially increase the cost of doing business. Add that to the assessment businesses pay for workers who choose MassHealth for their health insurance, and it's clear to understand employers' concerns.

But that's not all. The addition of a potential trade war spurred by the new U.S. tariffs on foreign goods makes for a "perfect storm" of business uncertainty. That worry became more than speculation on Friday when China responded to $34 billion in duties by the U.S. on its products by slapping levies of equal measure on American goods, including soybeans, corn, pork and poultry.

Canada's earlier reaction to U.S. tariffs on certain paper products have sent the price of newsprint soaring for an already struggling newspaper industry.

So, we'd say businesses in this state have reason to be wary. Someone must pay for increased cost of doing business, either with higher prices, getting by with fewer employees, or both.

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